“Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it. – Albert Einstein
Right now in this very moment, are you able to stop and take a good, long look at where you are in your life? Are you unequivocally pleased with what you intrinsically see, or are you ready to make a few changes? In your response . . . be careful what you wish or ask for, as the asessment may exceed the well-intentioned commitment. As those who have made the decision to change course for innumerable reasons the words of Heraclitus ring quite true, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
Saying we want to make changes in our lives is one thing, doing it is quite another. Of course, there are always those who stringently feel everything is just fine, and really don’t register any necessity for change as their comfort level is quite adequate . . . all things being equal. This acceptance of the status quo always makes me think of a quote by Lao Tzu . . . “Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”
The question then becomes, how well do you wish to know yourself? Perhaps at present, you are pleased with where you are . . . congratulations are definitely in order! Enlightenment is the direct result of a desire to practice a little excavation, within those hallowed corridors of our mind, body, spirit . . . essence. An easy task . . . definitely not, but well worth the effort, energy, desire, focus and hope to turn things around . . . perhaps for the very first time in your life.
As time inevitably proceeds forward, our opportunities begin to diminish as these moments slip through our fingers one by one. It is possible and likely more probable, that some life changing decision or event will be made for us involving the death of a loved one, a crisis of health, employment, spirit or faith. In the words of Socrates . . . “Wisdom begins in wonder,” and as we proceed through the events of this journey with all its twists and turns, we can be prepared with making just a few changes before circumstances make it impossible to work our way out of the maze. Of course, making that very precarious leap into the unkown of our individual essence, poignantly illuminates this quote by Eric Fromm. . . “To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable.” JLR